


Seal My Fate

by coloursflyaway



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Pining, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 15:50:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9827288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coloursflyaway/pseuds/coloursflyaway
Summary: Or: Todd Brotzman wouldn't know a date if it bit him on the ass.





	

**Author's Note:**

> An anon on Tumblr asked for Todd and Dirk having to pretend they're a couple for reasons, and this is not quite that, but also not that different. 
> 
> On a side note, if you want to think more about Dirk and Todd and break your heart, go and listen to ABC's "All of my Heart".   
> ...as I have done for the last four hours.

„Coming here was really the most splendid idea, Todd“, Dirk tells him for the third time that day, and Todd can just so resist rolling his eyes.   
“It wasn’t really an idea”, he tells the other, stuffs his hands into the pockets of his suit. He hates wearing it, the fabric too stiff to feel comfortable, but back in the days when Amanda was still speaking to him more than for the occasional quick text or call, she had assured him he looked good in it. Or rather, _hot as fuck, big bro_ , in her words. “I just got an invitation.”

“Still.” Dirk, as always, is absolutely undeterred by his words, smiles to himself and follows Todd through the pews. He looks different today, his leather jacket replaced by a grey suit with some kind of subtle plaid pattern on it, the only splash of colour a tie that reminds Todd vaguely of someone killing a flamingo and wrapping it around Dirk’s neck. All in all, he looks, for his standards, at least, normal.   
“You decided to bring me, which I am certain the invitation said nothing of, and that was very good thinking on your part.” Dirk looks happy enough with that explanation and Todd knows protesting won’t change anything, but still tries.   
“It did say “plus one” so…” He shrugs, and Dirk stops for a moment, obviously thinking, then his face lights up again; he’s found the solution to a problem that really isn’t one.   
“You could have brought Farah!”, he exclaims, looking more satisfied than a grown man should possibly be allowed to. “But you didn’t. A very wise choice, really. Oh! Who knows, we might find a case here! Or rather, the case might find us! We should try and blend in, very sneaky, so they don’t notice –“

At this point, Todd does what he does more often than he’d ever admit (amongst other things; there are a lot of things he would never admit, most of them having to do with Dirk), he stops listening and instead ponders something Dirk has said before.   
Farah.   
He could have brought her, absolutely. She would have been the logical choice to take with him to a wedding, a gorgeous, witty, if strange woman, who could have protected him from any and all kinds of attacks, such as unwanted small talk or those tiny mayonnaise-covered shrimps the waitresses keep offering him. Dirk is useless at that, talks to everyone who just looks in their direction and has eaten his body weight in hors d’oeuvres before the actual ceremony has even started.   
And yet, he didn’t even consider asking Farah, but had gone to Dirk straight away, had basked in the glow of the other’s smile when Todd asked him to come.

He remembers that smile well, the way it had made Dirk’s eyes shine even more brightly than usual, the exact pitch of the other’s voice when he had agreed, the – Todd shakes his head slightly, banning the thought from his mind. There are some things that he won’t ever admit, but even more things that he absolutely refuses to think about.

Fortunately, he doesn’t have to, is saved by two people he didn’t think he’d ever see again just three weeks ago: a lanky man in his late twenties with hair of the most boring shade of brown imaginable and more freckles than should fit on a single face, but an impossibly kind smile, and a woman with dark skin and hair dyed so many different, clashing colours that it looks like Todd imagines Dirk’s closet.   
Andrew, former bassist of the little known, but still very good Indie band _The Mexican Funeral_ , and his soon-to-be-wife and former band member, Mindy.

“Todd”, Andrew greets him, smiling a smile Todd does not deserve. “I’m glad you could make it.”  
Mindy nods and smiles at him as well, although this is a smile he does deserve – polite, but not very pleased. It’s not hard to figure out who insisted on inviting Todd.   
“Me too. Thank you again for the invitation, I didn’t – well. You know.”  
He sounds as awkward as he feels, which at least seems to please Mindy; Andrew pretends that he doesn’t notice. To say something, anything, really, that isn’t an apology, Todd gestures to his right, to Dirk, starts, “This is Dirk Gently, by the way. He’s –“  
“I’m his date”, Dirk finishes the sentence for him, extends a hand, his smile so bright Todd can hear it even over how utterly dumbfounded he is. _Date?_ “And I am so glad to meet you. Todd doesn’t really speak much about anything to do with _The Mexican Funeral_ , so it’s great to meet someone who might do so instead. I am terribly interesting in, oh, anything to do with his past, really. And such a joyous occasion as well! I truly do wish you all the luck in the world.”

The couple in front of them looks as confused as Todd feels, but Andrew is the politest person Todd has ever met, so he takes Dirk’s hand and shakes it.   
“Dirk, uh, good to meet you too. I didn’t know that – well, I suppose it’s been some time. Anyway. We’ll see you two around, alright?”  
Todd nods, not sure if he remembers how to speak, and they leave; the word _date_ still echoes in Todd’s mind. A date? Could this be considered a date? Of course, they dressed up, and Todd supposes that a wedding could be considered romantic, but -   
He doesn’t get any further with that train of thought, because his brain supplies him with a memory that clears everything up instantly: Dirk talking about a case, about blending in, being sneaky. And of course, that is all it is and can be.   
Explaining that he is a holistic detective who is looking for a mystery to solve would cause a commotion, most likely, and definitely be the end of blending in and being sneaky. But there are couples all around, so what better disguise to use?

Todd looks over at Dirk, all spruced up, with his hair perfectly coiffed and his tie a little bit crooked, and tries to ignore that his heart feels like it’s breaking.

 

They take their seats and the wedding begins, Mindy and Andrew both glowing with happiness, stumbling and stuttering and sobbing out their vows, and, unknown to anyone but himself, Todd suffers from a series of heart attacks when somewhere in between, Dirk reaches out and laces their fingers together.

 

“So how did you meet?”, Dirk asks and almost bodily pushes some other felicitator out of the way to sidle up to Mindy and Andrew. The two of them are sharing a flute of champagne and a piece of cake, and are apparently too deliriously happy to mind Todd and his not-date intruding.   
“At band practice”, Andrew answers, hardly missing a beat, which is quite impressive. He turns to his wife, beaming at her like he is seeing her for the very first time. “Because of Todd, actually. He had put an ad in the paper and the both of us showed up. I was sure that Mindy hated me at first, until I figured out that it was just all that eyeliner that made it seem like she wanted to murder me.”

“I was staring at him the whole time, that’s what he means”, she butts in, sounding more content than Todd has ever heard her, even after being in the same band for nearly three years. He might not have any right to do so, but Todd still feels happy for them. “Couldn’t believe that someone so cute wanted to even be in the same room as me, let alone smile at me and try to make incredibly awkward jokes.”  
“She laughed at them though!”, Andrew clarifies with a chuckle, presses a kiss to Mindy’s cheek. Todd’s own cheek aches jealously. “What about you? How did you meet?”

There is a moment in which Todd panics, proper, vicious fear clutching at his throat, but Dirk just smiles his most charming smile and doesn’t notice that Todd almost dies right on the spot when he takes his hand once more. Through the fog of panic, longing and confusion, Todd registers that Dirk’s thumb is softly brushing over his knuckles.   
“Oh, it’s quite a different story, that!”, Dirk replies easily, like he has told the tale a hundred times already. “I broke into Todd’s apartment one night – I had… seen him before, and I just had the strangest hunch that he’d be important. It wasn’t the most conventional way of courting someone, I have to admit, but it worked. And I was right. He turned out to be the most important thing that ever happened to me.”  
He turns to face Todd, who wishes he could just close his eyes, because seeing Dirk like this is almost painful. His eyes are blue and gentle, filled with something Todd can only describe as devotion, love sparking from them; he looks so earnest Todd could almost trick himself into believing him.

Who would have thought that Dirk Gently was any good as an actor?

He still hasn’t looked away when Andrew chuckles and saves him, ruins the moment.   
“I would say that is quite romantic, if strange… and possibly illegal”, he comments, and Todd finally turns to look at him, feeling his cheeks heat up to the point where he’s fairly certain he’s running a fever.   
“Oh, Todd, there’s no need to be embarrassed”, he continues, obviously noticing his discomfort and interpreting it horribly wrong. “We always kind of suspected that – well. It doesn’t matter anymore, does it? Now that you’ve found each other. I’m happy for you.”  
Andrew sounds genuine, and even Mindy is smiling at him, and the thought he might have earned just the slightest bit of their forgiveness feels too good to protest, or say anything at all.   
So Todd just nods, swallows thickly, and wonders why Dirk keeps stroking his knuckles when no one will see.

 

“Do you want to dance?”, Dirk asks suddenly, and Todd isn’t quite certain how many metaphorical deaths it will take until he really, actually dies, but rather convinced he will find out before the day is over.   
Dirk is standing next to him, the fairy lights decorating the garden around them making his eyes shine, his skin glow golden. He isn’t beautiful, because it’s still Dirk, and Dirk is skinny and awkward, just handsome instead of irresistible, but he doesn’t have to be, because he knocks the breath right out of Todd’s lungs anyway.

And there it is, spelt out so clearly in the pounding of his heart that Todd cannot pretend he doesn’t see it anymore, a truth: he might only have known Dirk Gently for a few, short months, but sometime along the world, Todd has given him his heart.

“Yeah, okay”, he mutters, and Dirk beams at him, extends a hand, and for the first time since they got here, it’s Todd who clasps his fingers around the other man’s; the fluttering, uneasy feeling in his stomach is the same.  
“Oh, good. I thought that it would probably be the appropriate thing to ask your date, judging by everyone around us.” Dirk grips his hand tighter and pulls him onto the dancefloor, where, he is right, at least a dozen couples are swaying to the music, Andrew and Mindy in the middle of them.   
And there it is again, that word, unprompted and without anyone else to hear, and Dirk’s fingers intertwining with his so easily, that Todd can’t help but hope that maybe, just maybe..

He doesn’t get to finish the thought, and doesn’t really mind it, because Dirk pulls him closer, looking down at him and not for the first time, making Todd aware how much taller the other is. Usually, he’d mind it – being short is nothing he is proud of – but with Dirk, it really doesn’t seem to matter.   
Especially when Dirk puts his other hand on Todd’s shoulder, his stance far from perfect.

 The music is slow, sweet, and they don’t have to talk about it, just start moving. It’s hardly enough to deserve being called dancing, rocking back and forth a little bit, occasionally taking half a step to let some other couple pass, and yet it feels more intimate, more subtly erotic than full-on grinding against each other could ever be.   
This time, when Todd feels breathless, he doesn’t really mind it.

Time passes without Todd really noticing, a song changing to another to another to another, and then, Frank Sinatra crooning about only having eyes for that one person in the background, Dirk leans in. Fairy lights and the bit of champagne they had before are illuminating his face and Todd knows he should close his eyes, and yet can’t help but watch, mesmerized, and wonder how Dirk’s lips are going to feel against his.

“I think I’ve found our case”, Dirk whispers.

 

The case ends up being a woman – some obscure aunt, Mindy tells them later – systematically stealing the catering company’s silverware, and Dirk is ecstatic about having solved their seventh case together; Todd feels like someone has ripped his heart from his chest, sliced it into little pieces and stuffed glass wool into the vacant space to keep him from collapsing.   
He’s tired, impossibly so, tells Dirk that much, but can’t convince the other to stay behind while he leaves, no matter how much he tries.   
Andrew and Mindy tell him to call sometime, which he probably won’t, and then Todd is left with an overly-concerned holistic detective in his car, instead of in a cab on his own, where he’d like to be, trying to figure out how much of the shattered pieces that once made up his heart are still salvageable.

“And you are certain that you are fine? You don’t look fine”, Dirk asks for the fifth time when they have finally pulled up at the curb in front of the Ridgely. He sounds genuinely worried, which would be sweet, if sweet didn’t just serve to crush Todd’s heart into smaller splinters still. Hoping, he decides, is always the worst course of action.  
“I’m okay, Dirk”, he tells the other, ignores the puppy eyes and gets out of the car. He should wait for Dirk – they do live in the same building after all – but right now, he just doesn’t have the strength to do so.   
Instead, Todd walks, makes it up the few steps to the front door before a hand wrapped around his wrist causes him to stop. It’s the same hand he knows so well by now, and it still makes Todd’s skin burn and tingle with want.

“Are you mad at me?”, Dirk asks with the quietest, most forlorn of voices, making Todd look up at him although he really, really doesn’t want to. “Have I done something wrong? ...again?”  
“…no.” The word takes more strength to utter than Todd thought he had left inside him, but it makes Dirk smile again, and therefore, is worth it.  
“Oh, thank God”, the other answers, so very obviously relieved that Todd almost expects him to start awkwardly patting his shoulder. Instead, Dirk’s hand stays where it is, around Todd’s wrist. “You had me worried. I would always mind it if you were upset with me, obviously, but I’d mind it a lot more tonight, I think. I enjoyed the wedding a lot. Thank you for taking me.”

Dirk looks almost shy at his admission, even if still like he is burning up with happiness, like solving this one dumb case really made all the difference to his world, and Todd manages half a smile.   
“No problem”, he tells him, “Thank you for coming. It would have been a lot more awkward without you.”  
The not-even-praise makes Dirk light up, and Todd wants to reclaim his wrist so he can go back to his flat and get as drunk as he possibly can with whatever alcohol he has left, but he’s not fast enough; Dirk speaks first.

“I guess that’s good night then”, the other says, and sounds nervous, looks like he is blushing. “This is – I mean, I think it’s appropriate to – oh, bugger it.”  
There is a split second that Todd spends wondering whatever the hell it is Dirk is speaking about, and then. Well. He doesn’t think anymore at all.

Dirk’s lips are as soft as he thought they would be, clumsy as they kiss him, leaving the taste of champagne on Todd’s mouth when the other pulls back, and the faint sensation of his heart mending itself in his chest.   
His own eyes haven’t closed the entire time, his brain to shocked to even blink, but Dirk’s only flutter open after he has straightened again, like he is unwilling to let the moment pass completely. Todd is impossibly glad for the hand around his wrist, preventing him from doing something stupid like touching a finger to his lips, hoping to feel Dirk’s kiss on them still.

“…so this was a date?”, Todd finally says, and of course, it is the stupidest possible response anyone could have thought of, not only effectively ruining the moment, but also wiping the blissful happiness clean from Dirk’s face.   
“Yes? Wait, wasn’t it? Was that what I did wrong?”  
There is something like panic slowly creeping into Dirk’s eyes, a look that suits him far less than contentment, and although Todd usually is only good at ruining things, not fixing them, he manages to do so now.   
“I was – I mean, no, it wasn’t, but not because – not because I didn’t want it to be. I wanted it to be a date. More than I realised at first, even, I _really_ wanted it to be a date. And it would have been a great date, too, even with the stealing aunt, if I had just noticed that it was one.”  
He tries to give Dirk a smile, which works far better than it did just moments ago; his heart, now fully functioning again, realises what is happening and picks up its pace.   
The other, though, still looks shaken, so Todd adds, “I thought it was a detective thing. A disguise to blend in, you know? But the point is that I’d like it a lot better if it wasn’t any of that. Just a date.”

Todd’s words seem to finally catch up to Dirk, make the shock and pain melt away at last.    
“ _Oh_ ”, he breathes out and there are more relief in that one syllable than should be possible. “Oh, good. That would have been horribly awkward – not to mention, utterly devastating, really, because I really enjoyed it. The date, I mean. And – and kissing you. I really enjoyed that too.”  
There is a faint hint of pink tinting Dirk’s cheeks, the tips of his ears, but his eyes are bright with something Todd has seen before, just hours ago; love shining out of them with an intensity that makes it hard to breathe.   
“I – “, Todd starts and doesn’t know to finish the sentence, doesn’t even know what he could have wanted to say, but one single thing. “Me too.”

A smile grazes Dirk’s lips, the kind that Todd knows would bloom into a fully-fledged beam grin soon, if it had the time. It doesn’t, because Todd gets up on his tiptoes and this time, his eyes flutter closed even before he kisses Dirk, shutting out the world around him so it’s just the two of them. The other’s lips are curved against his, allowing themselves be coaxed into kissing back by Todd’s hand coming up to cup Dirk’s cheek, trailing calloused fingertips over his skin.   
The kiss is soft and slow, almost lazy, the kind you don’t mention in any story you tell but sometimes think about at night and feel your lips tingle; when Todd draws back, his chest is aflame with affection, maybe even love.

Dirk looks awestruck somehow, eyes glazed over when he opens them again and his cheeks the pink of his tie. Before he speaks, he clears his throat and yet his voice is still slightly hoarse when he speaks, lower than Todd is used to.   
“I liked that one even better.”  
“Me too.”

It’s not a risk when he leans up and steals another tiny kiss, and that alone is enough to amaze Todd, who expected to go to sleep with a broken heart and now can taste Dirk on his lips, can feel the other’s breath against his skin. Has Dirk look at him like he is the single most beautiful person he has ever seen, the most important thing that ever happened to him. Can finally put a name to his fluttering, adoring heart without fearing what that could change.   
“You know”, Todd says, and feels said heart beat a little faster, like it is just warming up for later. “You could come in. With me.”  
Dirk loses a bit of the glow surrounding him, brow furrowing slightly in confusion, somehow making him look younger than he is. Innocent, almost. “But didn’t you say you were tired? I don’t want to keep you up. Well, want to, yes, but –“  
“Dirk”, Todd interrupts, says the other’s name like it’s a term of endearment and finds that to him, it is. “I’m definitely not too tired for that.”

He steps just the slightest bit closer still and watches the blush of Dirk’s cheeks darken as he begins to understand what it is Todd means.   
“A-Alright”, he finally replies, voice breathless and nervous and excited; the gentle warmth and affection spreading through Todd’s body turn into something hotter, more anticipatory. “I’m fairly certain that I’d like that even better.”

This time, when Todd kisses him, there’s more heat in it, his tongue darting out to taste and drawing the faintest moan from Dirk, a sound Todd knows he’ll treasure forever. He only pulls away when continuing would put them dangerously close to _public indecency_ territory; Dirk is breathing hard, lips kissed pink and eyes dark, a look Todd would never have expected to see on him and yet wants to keep there for the rest of his life.   
Stepping away at last, Todd turns his hand so he can grasp the one Dirk still has around his wrist, and gives him a smile that most likely only looks half as seductive as he wishes it would, but seems to work on Dirk anyway.   
“Don’t worry, I’m going to make sure of it.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> In case you want to say hi, send me a prompt, or tell me something nice, you can find me on Tumblr here:  
> [X](http://www.coloursflyaway.tumblr.com)


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